How to Close a GST/HST Account With the CRA When Your Business Stops Operating

When should you close a GST/HST account?

If your business permanently stops operating and no longer needs its GST/HST registration, you should notify the Canada Revenue Agency and request closure of the account.

The CRA also recognizes other reasons for deregistration, including when a business stops making taxable supplies or, in certain circumstances, becomes a small supplier and no longer wants voluntary registration.

If you are starting rather than closing a GST/HST account, use the separate Helpydo procedure for registering for a GST/HST account with the CRA.

Do not close the GST/HST account for a temporary shutdown

A temporary pause in business activity is different from permanently ceasing operations. The CRA states that if a business temporarily stops operating, it must continue filing GST/HST returns, even when there is no income or activity for the reporting period.

If the business permanently stops operating, the GST/HST account can be closed using the CRA's deregistration procedure.

What information do you need to close the account?

Before requesting closure, have these four key details ready:

• the business number;
• the legal name of the business;
• the cancellation date; and
• the reason for closing the GST/HST account.

If the business itself is closing, the CRA states that the cancellation date is the day the business closes.

How to close the GST/HST account online

The CRA's current 2026 procedure allows GST/HST account closure online. Sign in to your CRA account and choose Business to access My Business Account. An authorized representative can use Represent a Client.

This is an actual account-closure route, not merely an information or payment service, so the procedure is available online.

How to close the account by mail with Form RC145

If you prefer the paper route, use Form RC145, Request to Close Business Number Program Accounts. Complete Part B for the GST/HST account together with every other section that applies to your situation.

Mail the completed form to the CRA tax centre that handles RC145 requests. The CRA requires the form to be sent within 6 months of the date you signed it.

Form RC145 can close one or more CRA business number program accounts, so make sure you identify the accounts you actually intend to close rather than assuming that closing GST/HST automatically closes every CRA account connected to the business.

Can you deregister because your sales have fallen below the small-supplier threshold?

Possibly. If a sole proprietor, partnership or corporation becomes a small supplier and GST/HST registration is no longer mandatory, it may request cancellation. The CRA generally requires the person to have been registered for at least one full year before voluntary deregistration.

That one-year restriction does not prevent a business that is actually closing and ceasing its commercial activities from requesting closure.

Who cannot deregister merely because they are a small supplier?

The CRA specifically states that taxi operators and commercial ride-sharing drivers must remain registered for GST/HST even when they otherwise meet the small-supplier revenue test. Non-resident performers selling admissions to seminars and certain other events are also subject to mandatory registration rules.

What happens to inventory and other non-capital property when you deregister?

Closing a GST/HST account can trigger tax consequences even when no ordinary sale occurs. Immediately before deregistration, the CRA generally treats you as having sold each property other than capital property that you held for consumption, use or supply in commercial activities and as having collected GST/HST on that deemed sale.

You must calculate GST/HST on the fair market value of the affected property immediately before the account closes and report the amount on the final return.

This can apply to inventory, supplies and other business property, so do not close the account without reviewing assets still held by the business.

What happens to capital property when you close the GST/HST account?

The CRA also treats affected capital property used in commercial activities as disposed of immediately before deregistration. The tax calculation is based on the property's basic tax content at that time and the applicable change-in-use rules.

Include any tax deemed collected in the final net tax calculation. The CRA notes that, in general, all or part of input tax credits previously claimed on the property may effectively have to be repaid through this calculation.

Capital property can include significant business assets, so businesses with real property, vehicles, equipment or other substantial assets may need careful calculations before filing the final return.

Do you need to adjust input tax credits?

Yes, in some circumstances. You cannot claim input tax credits for rent, royalties, services or similar payments to the extent they relate to a period after the GST/HST account closes.

If you already claimed an input tax credit for an amount relating to the post-registration period, an adjustment may be required on the final net tax calculation. Conversely, an input tax credit may still be available for GST/HST that becomes payable after closure when the underlying service, rent, royalty or similar amount relates to the period before you ceased to be a registrant.

What final GST/HST returns must you file?

Closing the account does not end your filing responsibility immediately. The CRA treats the closure as creating separate reporting periods and you may have to file one or two final returns.

• The first reporting period ends on the day before the GST/HST account closes.
• A second reporting period begins on the cancellation date and ends on the last day of that month. The second return is required only if you have tax to remit for that period.

For example, the CRA's current guidance illustrates an annual filer closing a business and GST/HST account on October 21. The first final return covers January 1 through October 20, and another return is required for October 21 through October 31 if tax is remittable for that short period.

Why might there still be GST/HST owing?

Your final liability is not limited to GST/HST collected from customers before closing. It can also include tax resulting from the deemed-disposition rules for property, adjustments to input tax credits and amounts connected with transactions or revenue attributable to the closing period.

You must remit every amount owing when required rather than assuming closure cancels an outstanding balance.

Does closing GST/HST also close your business number?

Not necessarily. A business number can have several CRA program accounts, including GST/HST, payroll and corporation income tax accounts. Each program has its own closing procedure and final filing obligations.

If the entire business is ending, review every CRA program account rather than closing only GST/HST. If you originally created the business number for tax programs, Helpydo's guide to registering a CRA business number and program accounts explains the account structure you may see in your CRA profile.

Special cases that use additional or different procedures

Non-resident businesses

A non-resident business that provided security when registering for GST/HST must also inform the CRA's Non-Resident Registration and Security Section when closing the account.

Selected listed financial institutions

A selected listed financial institution for GST/HST or Quebec Sales Tax purposes does not use the ordinary RC145 procedure for this purpose. The CRA directs these entities to Form RC7345, Request to Close Business Number Program Accounts for Certain Selected Listed Financial Institutions.

Bankruptcy or receivership

Bankruptcy and receivership have separate GST/HST rules. In bankruptcy, the CRA requires specified insolvency documentation and the business number is usually closed after discharge. If the individual begins or continues a business activity outside the bankrupt estate after assignment, the CRA treats that activity as a new entity requiring a new business number and GST/HST account.

A proposal in bankruptcy is not the same as bankruptcy and does not automatically close the GST/HST account.

What happens if you stop operating but never tell the CRA?

Do not simply stop using the account. Until the GST/HST registration is properly closed, the CRA can continue expecting GST/HST returns for each reporting period, including nil returns when there was no business activity.

This is why account closure should be completed deliberately rather than assuming the CRA will automatically infer that the business ended.

Common GST/HST closure mistakes to avoid

• Closing the GST/HST account when operations are only temporarily suspended.
• Choosing a cancellation date that does not reflect when the business actually stopped operating.
• Mailing Form RC145 more than 6 months after it was signed.
• Assuming closing the GST/HST account automatically closes payroll, corporate tax or every other CRA program account.
• Failing to file the final GST/HST return because the business made no further ordinary sales.
• Ignoring inventory or other non-capital property still held when registration ends.
• Failing to calculate the GST/HST consequences for capital property under the applicable change-in-use rules.
• Claiming input tax credits for expenses attributable to a period after GST/HST registration ended.
• Forgetting that a second short-period return may be required if tax is remittable for the period from the cancellation date to the end of that month.
• Assuming outstanding GST/HST disappears when the account is closed.
• Using RC145 when the business is a selected listed financial institution that must use RC7345 instead.